How 9 11 Changed it All
by PrincessBones
Summary: Booth, Bones and Parker's reaction to 9-11. Each Chapter is from a different characters perspective...starting with Parker...yes that's right I said Parker, the adorable curly haired little boy!
1. Chapter 1

"Goodnight Daddy I love you." I said after he finished reading me a book that I was not really paying attention to. He was acting funny. Usually my Daddy is fun and laughing and joking around but this weekend he has been serious and just being weird.

Mommy dropped me off last night after football practice and Daddy had not shaved and was wearing sweatpants. Daddy always shaves and only wears sweatpants if he is going to bed but it was still early, not even my bedtime yet and I go to bed way before he does. After he tucked me in last night I waited up to see what he would do but he went to bed. Usually I can sneak out and watch football or basketball or something for a little bit before he catches me and puts me back to bed. Not last night though, last night he went into his room.

I watched as my Daddy got down on his knees and prayed but it wasn't the usual bedtime prayer it was Daddy talking to God on his own. I was worried he would get mad at me if he knew I was watching but I couldn't go; there was something wrong with Daddy. He kept talking about the horrible anniversary and missing his friends. I finally went back to my room and put myself to bed when he crawled under the covers.

All day today he was quiet and didn't play very much. We went to the park like we always do but he just watched me on the playground instead of teaching me new football moves or chasing me around. I snuck out again and hid in the living room watching Daddy when he thought I was in bed. He sat down on the couch in front of the TV but he didn't ever turn it on.

A few minutes later Daddy's phone rang and I had to run and hide so he wouldn't see me but I stayed where I could hear what he said.

"Hey Bones….Is everything okay?" He smiled for the first time all weekend when he answered for her. He always smiled when he was talking about Dr. Bones.

"Ya, Parker is in bed….No Bones I'm fine…Really Bones I am." He lied to her but she didn't believe him. She knew my Daddy too well.

"I don't know if I am going to go to the memorial services or not. I haven't gone before…I will think about it Bones….okay, Talk to you later then. Goodnight." he said getting off the phone.

I watched as he pulled a picture down from the top shelf that I didn't know was up there. I think it was a picture of his friends from the Army because it was just a bunch of camo with a few faces. He stared at it for a really long time before putting it back on the shelf and going into his room. I thought for sure I would get caught when he walked to his room but if he saw me he didn't say anything. Daddy was really upset about something. I watched him go into the bathroom and heard him take his medicine and then he went into his bedroom but he didn't turn off his lamp.

I went back into my room but left the door open so I could hear Daddy. I guess I fell asleep because the next thing I remember is hearing Daddy have a nightmare. I could hear him moving around in bed and it sounded like he was crying. I went quietly into Daddy's room and watched him for a minute before I crawled into bed with him. I gave him a hug like he does to me when I am having a bad dream and I held him. I held my Daddy. He stopped moving around so much but his dream didn't stop he was still crying saying he wanted to help somebody and he should have been able to stop something from happening but I didn't know what he was talking about so I didn't know what to say to help my Daddy. His medicine made him sleep a long time so I knew he wouldn't wake up until the morning but I was scared he would have more bad dreams. I didn't know what else to do. I had to call Dr. Bones, she would know what to do to help my Daddy.


	2. Chapter 2

"Booth? It is late. Is everything okay?" I answered, it was almost midnight and I was just getting ready for bed.

"Dr Bones?" I heard a child ask.

"Parker? Is everything okay? Where is your Dad?"

"Dr Bones I am scared. Daddy has been acting funny all weekend and tonight he took his medicine that makes him sleepy and now he is having bad dreams and I went in and gave him a hug and he stopped moving around and stuff but he is still crying in his sleep and my Daddy never cries. I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry Parker I will be over in a few minutes. Will you wait for me by the front door? I will knock six little knocks so you will know it is me and you can let me in."

"Okay Dr Bones, Thank you." He said hanging up the phone. I threw on a pair of sweats and grabbed my overnight bag and ran to the car. Luckily there was no traffic this late and so I made it to Booth's in under ten minutes, of course I was speeding a little…okay a lot, but I had to get over there.

After he called in sick on Friday and wouldn't tell me why when I knew he wasn't sick I knew something was up. Then when I talked to him earlier and invited him to go with me to New York for the 9-11 memorial and he didn't know I knew what was wrong. He always acted weird the first part of September but usually we had a case so he was busy. I never thought that he knew people who were hurt or killed but now that I thought about it I didn't know how he couldn't know someone.

I knocked softly on the door six times and heard the lock turn. Parker was standing by the door and just pointed at Booth's room. I could hear him in there still obviously having his nightmares. "Parker I want you to go to your room now okay? I will go stay with your Daddy."

He nodded and went into his room and I went into Booth's. The lamp was still on so I could easily see my way to his bed. I walked slowly across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed and put my hand on his shoulder tightly gripping it I shook him. "Booth. Wake up." I said firmly.

"Bones?" He said not quite opening his eyes.

"Shh Booth, Parker called me he is worried about you and I can see why." I said as he shot to a sitting position. I moved around so I was sitting against the headboard so when he fell against me he was leaning into my chest. I enveloped him into a hug and held him.

"Bones didn't have to come here I fine." he said in broken English as he struggled to stay awake and push himself back into a sitting position.

"Booth I know you lost someone in the attack, I know that is why Parker says you have been acting funny, I know that is why you said you were sick Friday. I know that is why you took your sleeping pills, which I am sure you took more than your prescribed dose to be this out of it. What I don't know is why you didn't just say something to me." I said running my fingers through his soft hair.

"Twenty-three." He answered back. "Five in the attack and eighteen since." He said with a wavering voice.

He lost twenty-three friends because of the attack. Even losing one, one is hard enough but to lose twenty-three I do not know how he has held himself together until now.

I felt him start to shake and could tell he had fallen back asleep, gone back to his demons, mumbling in his sleep I was able to get the full picture of what happened. He was there when the attack happened at a meeting for the Army, he was in the second tower when the first plane hit. He helped to evacuate the building he was in but not everyone would leave. His friends were still in the building when the second plane hit and they couldn't not get down because of it.

I held him and let his dream take its course until it started repeating itself again. I shook him awake and made him look me in the eyes. "Booth I am here with you and we will get though this together." I whispered as he stared into my eyes.

"I'm sorry Bones." He said his eyes welling up with tears.

"Booth you have nothing to be sorry for." I said wiping a lone tear off his cheek and pulling him close against me. I felt him relax in my arms and I leaned my head against his and closed my eyes.

"Defend us in our house of conflict; Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God restrain Him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast Satan into Hell, and with him all the other evil spirits, who wander through the world, for the ruin of souls. Amen." I whispered into his ear.

"Amen." he whispered back wrapping his arms around my waste and holding onto me.

"Sleep now Booth" I told him as I slid my fingers up and down his bare back. I watched the tension leave his body and he fell into a restful sleep.

I sat there watching him sleep until I saw the sun begin to rise. I moved so that I was able to lay down and still hold him. He needed to be held. He told me what when he is scared he will hug me and he did tonight. I only hoped that once he woke up he would not go back to being the all mighty protector and just be human like he was last night. The side of him that he never lets anyone see, the side of him he occasionally let me catch a glimpse to.

I was lost in my thoughts until I saw the blonde curls outside of the bedroom door. I waved Parker into the room and he walked cautiously over to the bed and climbed up next to me. "Is my Daddy okay now?" He asked.

"Parker your Daddy has been through a lot and someday he will tell you about it but you were right to call for help last night. Have you heard about 9-11 at school?" I asked him quietly.

"Ya it happened before I was born so I don't really know a lot about it but the teacher gets all funny when she talks about it because a bunch of people died and then the war started." He answered in a manner that made him seem years older than his actual age of six.

"That's right Parker. A lot of people did die, 2,999 died. Your dad knew five of them."

"And Daddy gets sad cuz it is almost 9-11 again and he remembers his friends?"

"That's exactly it." I answered running my fingers through Booth's hair as he started to stir.

"Thank you for helping my Daddy Dr Bones." Parker said as he snuggled into me and lay down in the bed and closing his eyes.

I smiled and rolled towards him, "Thank you for letting me help your Daddy Parker." I whispered closing my eyes and allowing myself to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Was it all a dream. Did Bones come over last night and hold me? Did she say a prayer? I woke up very confused. She is here in my bed talking to my son, explaining to him something I can't even explain to myself.

I love the way she runs her fingers through my hair. Her scent is so soothing. She is the only person who does not judge me, she is just here. Here because my son called her and told her something is wrong. She came here and held me so I could get the first good night sleep I have had in years. Now she is laying with my son in my bed. She really is my best friend.

I got out of bed and made a pancake breakfast and brought it back into my room where I woke up my two favorite people. "Good morning Sleepy Heads." I said smiling. Parker rolled into Bones and together they sat up and took the plates from me smiling and started to eat.

"Dr Bones are you going to go to church with me and Daddy today?"

"Parker…" I said warning him not to push it. We had talked about how not everyone went to church and Bones was one of the people who didn't.

"No Booth it is okay. I would like to go to church with you guys if it is okay with your Daddy." She said smiling at me. I gave her a questioning look and she smiled, "I promise I will be good Booth."

"Okay so since all three of us are going we need to hurry and get ready so we aren't late." I said and Parker shoved half a pancake into his mouth and jumped up and ran to his room to get dressed.

"Bones are you sure…?" I started to ask her.

"Booth why didn't you tell me why you didn't come to work on Friday?" She interrupted me.

"Bones…I just…I don't…I mean…" I couldn't get my words out. I didn't know how to explain that my life seemed to be crumbling around me because every time someone mentions 9-11 I feel like crawling into a hole and never coming out. That I wish I could trade places with them, that I could have saved them if I would have just told them to get out instead of waiting for an actual order to get out. That it is my fault that five of my friends died that day. That so many more died fighting in the war that the president ordered to defend our country. Why I really didn't reenlist when my contract was up on the fifteenth of September. Why I ran away, why I left New York. Why I came to DC. Why I really took the easy way out when I could have saved all of those people.

"Its okay Booth." She said bringing me back to reality, "I can see it is hard for you, I just don't know why you were afraid to talk to me about it." She said squeezing my hand as she stood up. I watched her grab her overnight bag and go into the bathroom to get ready to go to church with me.

A church that she said she did not believe in and yet knew the right prayer to say last night. For her to believe in something, to have faith in something she always said was irrational. When I asked about it before she said she didn't believe in it but that I did and that was what mattered. Was this the same thing?

I sat there dumbfounded trying to sort everything out in my head. Parker called Bones. Bones came over. Bones held me…all night. Now she is going to church. I could not figure out how all of this came about. I did not even see her come back into my room until a wet towel hit me in the head.

"Earth to Booth. That is the correct phrase right?" She asked sitting down next to me. I smiled, how was she so clueless sometimes and yet always know what to say to make me feel better?

"When you are ready to talk I am here. Until then I will not ask questions or say anything about last night." She told me softly before heading out to find Parker and make sure he was getting ready for church.

"Thanks Bones." I said grabbing my stuff and running into the bathroom so I could get ready for the day.


	4. Chapter 4

I walked into church holding both my Daddy and Dr Bones' hands. I liked doing things with Daddy and Dr Bones. Dr Bones told me a secret before we left home, she said she was going to watch me and do what I do in church because she does not know what to do. I was excited cuz I got to show a grownup how to behave in church. I knew Daddy would be proud of me.

I led them to our regular pew and sat down between Daddy and Dr Bones. Dr. Bones watched everything like me and it was kinda like Simon Says cuz everything I did she did too. Daddy kept looking over at her smiling. I hadn't seen him smile at all this whole weekend until she came over and fixed him and made his bad dreams stop and his smiles come back.

At the end of church the Priest said something about a special service on Thursday night for the seventh anniversary of 9-11. There have been more anniversaries than I have even been alive! It must have been really bad to have happened so long ago and still make all the grownups so sad. I looked up at Daddy and he had tears in his eyes, I was scared that he was going to be sad again so I looked over at Dr Bones and saw that she had reached her arm around and put her hand on Daddy's shoulder. I knew that my Daddy would be okay as long as Dr Bones was with him.

Sometimes I think grownups are weird. My Daddy acts like loves Dr Bones and Dr Bones acts like she loves Daddy but whenever people ask who Dr Bones is Daddy always says his partner instead of his girlfriend. But he has had a bunch of dumb blond ladies who he says is his girlfriends but he never lets them come over at night when I am there. I have only seen them at the park one or two times and then I never see them again. I don't know what the difference is but Mommy says it is because Daddy and Dr Bones are too dumb to see what everyone else does. When I ask what that means she just tells me someday I will understand. I think it is really just grownups being silly.

After we walked out of the church I asked Daddy if we could go to the park but he said we had to do something else first. That I needed to learn what 9-11 was and why it was important to so many people. He said he even called Mommy and asked if I could stay for an extra day so that he could show me. Usually Mommy says no but this time she said yes.

"Daddy is Dr Bones going to go with us?" I asked. I didn't want to go anywhere without Dr Bones because Daddy needed her.

Daddy looked over to her and she nodded. "Ya Buddy she is coming with us." He told me as we climbed into the car. We got onto the freeway and drove a really long way. Daddy put my little movie player in and Dr Bones sat in the back with me and we watched Finding Nemo and Lion King before we got to the parking lot.

"Okay Buddy we are here. We have to walk the rest of the way." He said with a sad look in his eyes.

"Dr Bones will you hold my hand?" I asked walking over to her. She took my hand and smiled.

"I will hold your hand if your Daddy lets me hold his too." She answered and Daddy smiled and took her hand.


	5. Chapter 5

I had a feeling we were going to New York when Booth pulled out the dvd player and movies for Parker. Booth didn't seem much in the mood for talking because he was still trying to sort out his thoughts. I sat in the back and watched movies with Parker. I hadn't seen Finding Nemo or Lion King before the car ride.

It was interesting that Parker's favorite movies involved young males who lose a parent and are thereby raised by a single parent. Nemo's mother died before he was even hatched and Simba's father died saving him and hten he ran away and was raised by Timon and Pumba who are a completely different species. Always a hero story and always family bonds.

We parked about a mile from ground zero, from the memorial that is surrounding the site. Parker asked if I would hold his hand, of course I would but when I looked at Booth I could see he needed the same thing so I said I would only hold his hand if Booth would hold mine.

We walked hand in hand to the Tribute Center on the corner of the perimeter. They give guided tours and also have a small museum set up showing pictures of the day and letters families wrote and placed on the fence. Booth's eyes were bloodshot and glassy but he refused to let any of the tears fall.

"Daddy is this where your friends died?" Parker asked softly.

I looked over at Booth and could tell he was trying to answer but just could not get the words out without breaking. "Yes Parker, this is where Daddy's friends died." I said squeezing Booth's hand in mine.

"The planes crashed into the buildings. My teacher told us. And she said that people on top of where the planes crashed got stuck and couldn't get out. Then the towers fell down like when you knock over a block tower and people got stuck and that is how so many died. Is that right Dr Bones?"

"Yes that is exactly right. In total four buildings collapsed, lots of people who worked in the towers died but so did the police and firefighters who were trying to rescue people. You could see the smoke and ash from outer space for days after." I answered.

"Was it scary? I would be scared." He whispered.

"I was scared Parker. I did not know if my friends were still alive or if they died. People did not know if their Mommy's and Daddy's and brothers and sisters and friends were alive or dead. Over 6,000 people got hurt and 2,999 people died. Do you know how many people that is Parker?"

"My teacher said it was like 300 of our class so it is a whole lot. It makes me sad Dr Bones. She said that some of the people who died were kids and some babies were born and their daddy's were killed and so they never got to meet their daddy's." He said getting tears in his eyes. I reached down and scooped him up in my arms and held him on my hip and turned into Booth so we were both hugging him.

"Parker my best friend was killed in the attack. We were your age when we met and we grew up together and were in the Army together. Four of my other Army friends were in the building when it collapsed. I told them to wait where we were and I would figure out what was going on and by the time I got out and tried to tell them to come out it was too late." Booth said quietly, I could see the guilt, sorrow and anger in his eyes as he said it.

"Daddy what do you mean it was too late?"

"I walked out the front door right as the plane hit the second tower. They were in a room above where the plane hit so they were stuck. There was no way for them to get out." He said as a tear slid down his cheek landing on his chest. We walked over to a bench where we sat down and just looked at the pit.

That was all that was left. A pit where so many lost their lives, where I spent months sifting through reckage trying to identify victims, the site of an attack that stopped time where everything is either referred to before 9-11 or post 9-11. A new chapter for the history books. It is crazy to think that it took only nineteen people to change the lives of millions of people.


	6. Chapter 6

It was my fault. I could have told them to get out, I could have told them to go to the ground floor and wait for proper instructions but I didn't. I told them to sit tight and that I would find out what was going on and tell them what to do. I didn't think that another plane was going to hit the building, the building that we were in, that I walked out of only to look up and see the plane hit the building, possibly even the floor and the room that I had just been in, the room that my friends were dying in.

I could feel my legs getting ready to give out on me, I looked over at Bones and she picked up Parker and together they held me. Then she led me to a bench where we sat and just looked at the pit, the fence around the pit, the other people who like us all had tears in their eyes as they looked at and took in the same things we were.

I did not think I would ever come back here. I avoided New York like the plague. When I was with Cam she always wanted to go to New York. I always came up with excuses not to go. After the attack I stayed and helped pull bodies out of the wreckage. I was still Army at that point and so I had full clearance to help as much as I wanted. No one ever asked me to leave or to get out of the way, they, we needed all the help we could get. I helped search for a week. When the decision was made that it was no longer searching for people and it was now body recovery I left.

I couldn't be there anymore, I had to leave New York. I broke up with Cam, turned in my equipment to the Army and moved back to Philadelphia. I sat in my room at my parents house for three weeks before I turned in my application to the FBI. Someday I would tell Bones and Parker my real reasons but for now…now I cant. At least not ready to tell Parker.

"Let's go home now." I said after a few minutes.

Bones stood up still holding Parker and we walked back to the car. When we got to the car I went to the passenger side and climbed in. She helped Parker buckle into his seat and turned on a movie for him and then she climbed into the driver seat without asking any questions. She always knew when to ask and when not to. I could tell she wanted to ask but somehow she knew not to ask in front of Parker.

"Daddy can we get pizza for dinner when we get home?" Parker asked once we got onto the freeway heading home.

"Sure Bub but it will be late. Way past bedtime even so we may stop on the way before we get home. He accepted my answer and turned back to his movie, he was asleep within a half hour.

"Thank you Bones." I finally said to her after spending two hours staring out the window watching the lines in the road.

"Booth I was there too you know. My roommate from college was one of the missing. All that we have found from her so far was her wallet. That is why I was there, I had to help find her and all the others. They need to go home to their families Booth." She said reaching over and putting her hand on my leg. "It helps to share, to talk about what happened Booth, it helps. Those of us who were there and even those who just saw it on TV it affected everyone. We wont ever forget and talking about it helps."

"It just hurts so much Bones." I said as my voice broke. I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes.

"Partners in this too Booth. When you are scared you hug me. That is what you said isn't it? You are always here when I need you and I am here for you." She said squeezing my leg one last time before putting her hand back on the wheel and driving home.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew Bones was leaning over me running her fingers down my cheek waking me up to go inside. I looked in the back for Parker and he was already out of the car carrying a McDonalds Happy Meal box.

"Daddy you didn't have any bad dreams when you were sleeping this time." He said bouncing around Bones and I as we walked into the house. He was right, no bad dreams with Bones. I could actually sleep when I was around her. In her office on the couch while she worked, when we were out of town for work, last night when she came over, in the car just now. No bad dreams with Bones.


	7. Chapter 7

"Daddy you didn't have any bad dreams when you were sleeping this time." I told my Daddy when we were walking into the house.

"Go get ready for bed Buddy you still have school tomorrow."

"But Daddy I only go to school from Mommy's house not from your house."

"Usually that is true Parker but Daddy made a deal with your Mommy so that I could take you to New York today but you still need to go to school tomorrow."

"But what about the park? You said after where you take me you said we could go to the park and I was good so I want to go to the park." I said getting mad.

"I am going to pick you up from school tomorrow and we can go to the park before I bring you back to your Mommy's." I suppose his answer was okay. I ran into my room and changed into my jammy pants then I went back out to the living room where Daddy and Dr Bones were sitting on the couch talking. I walked slow to the couch so that I could hear what they were talking about but they heard me and stopped talking anyway.

"Dr Bones will you tuck me into bed tonight?" I asked. Daddy always tucks me in but today was different and tonight I wanted Dr Bones to tuck me in. I wanted to ask her a special question, one that I didn't know if Daddy had the guts to ask her.

"Sure Buddy." She said getting up and taking my hand. Daddy just sat on the couch with a silly grin instead of coming with us.

I crawled into bed and Dr Bones sat down next to me. "Dr Bones do you love my Daddy?" I asked her.

I could see her thinking about my question, she tilted her head to its side and studying me. "Yes Parker I do love your Daddy." She said sighing and leaning against the wall.

"Are you going to go to the park with us tomorrow?" I asked. I wanted to ask if she was going to be my step-mommy but something in my tummy said that it would totally freak her out if I asked.

"Well I have work tomorrow with your Dad but if I'm not too busy I will go with you guys." She answered.

"Dr Bones will you stay here tonight and make sure my Daddy doesn't have any bad dreams again tonight?"

"Parker that is up to your Daddy. I will stay if he asks me to but if he doesn't ask then I will go home to my house."

"But what if you go home and he has bad dreams again?" I asked worried about my Daddy.

"Parker you know what. I am going to write down my phone number and you can call me anytime you need anything. If he has a bad dream tonight, or if you need something a month from now okay buddy?" She asked me as she took out a crayon from its box and wrote it on a scrap of paper on my table. Then she handed it to me. I looked at it and folded it up and put it under my pillow.

"Goodnight Dr Bones." I said laying down. She lifted my blanket and tucked it around me before kissing my forehead.

She stood up and turned on my nightlight and turned off the big light and walked to the doorway. "Goodnight Parker. Sweet dreams." She said as she walked out the door.

I laid in bed for a few minutes before getting up and sneaking out to spy on Daddy and Dr Bones. I found the perfect hiding spot under the kitchen table. I could see them sitting on the couch and most of all I could hear them talking.


	8. Chapter 8

"He is in bed now Booth. He is a good kid. A lot like you that is for sure." I said smiling as I sat down on the couch across from my partner.

I watched him sift through his thoughts. Today was an emotionally draining day. After a few minutes he looked up at me with tears in his eyes, "Bones I could not have done this without you, you know that right?" he said softly, I nodded. "I have not talked to anyone about what happened. The only people who knew I was even in New York when it happened died when the tower collapsed."

"You were there getting a new mission weren't you." I said already knowing the answer.

"Ya we were being sent out again. The Army knew that we were not planning on reenlisting so they wanted to get us to do as much as we could before we were out. We were suppose to leave the next morning. Top secret missions as per most of what I was sent over to do."

"The Army forgot about it when the attack happened. That is why you were able to get out no questions asked. They were too busy to do anything about it."

"I never went on any missions without at least one of the five who died in the attack. I worked with several others in the Army but my partner was always one of the five. We were always the leaders on the missions. Now I am the only one still alive. I just couldn't do it anymore. Not after losing all of my partners."

"So you moved back to Philly and joined the FBI." I said, he nodded and put his head down.

"I worked my way up really fast, I was made an agent after only two months doing office work. Special Agent within a year. That is when I transferred to DC and ran into Rebecca again."

I did not know what to say, all of the painful things he has been through, all of the things he has had to do. I was surprised he could ever sleep with all the painful memories.

"Rebecca was a college girlfriend. When I moved to DC I ran into her and I don't know I just needed…" he couldn't finish what he was saying he was so upset.

"You just needed a friend but all of yours were gone so you found the closest thing." I said putting my hand on his knee and scooting over towards him. He leaned into me and buried his face in my neck. He was not crying, he was juts seeking comfort. I put my arm around him and turned my head, as I did I saw Parker sitting under the kitchen table. I smiled at him and nodded, I knew he just wanted to make sure that I would stay with his dad and I knew I couldn't leave him tonight. Not when he needed a friend. I couldn't leave my best friend when he needed me.

Parker smiled at me and went back into his room and shut the door behind him. His son was so much like him it was as if he had been cloned. I wondered if he was like his mother at all because all I saw was his father.

"Booth you need to sleep." I whispered into his ear.

"I don't know if I can." He said honestly as he lifted his head of and looked into my eyes with his deep chocolate brown eyes filled with sadness.

"We will do this together Booth." I told him squeezing his hand.

"Bones I cant ask you to stay with me every night."

"Booth you didn't ask me to do anything. We have work tomorrow and it is late." I knew that he was scared what me staying might mean. He couldn't be scared of logic though. "You are my partner correct?" I asked him.

"Yes Bones." He answered not understanding what I was getting at.

"We are friends too."

"Best friends Bones."

"You need a friend right now."

He nodded his head and looked down at this hands.

"I am here and I am your best friend."

"Ya." He said barely audible.

"Therefore I am staying here with you. You didn't ask me to. I am telling you that I am."

"I get it Bones. Thank you." He said getting up.

I followed him into his room and changed into a pair of his jogging shorts and one of his t-shirts and climbed into his bed. He changed into his flannel pants and climbed in after me. "Goodnight Booth." I said laying my head down on the pillow.

"Goodnight Bones." He said closing his eyes and putting his hand over mine and holding it tight.

I watched him as he drifted off to sleep, I could see his eyes moving back and forth and watched as his brow furrowed and relaxed over and over until finally his grip on my hand relaxed and he was asleep. I closed my eyes and went to sleep myself. Morning always comes too soon.


	9. Chapter 9

I hate relying on other people and laying here next to her, next to my partner I cant help but relax. Relax, relaxation, relaxing, something I have not been able to do for an extremely long time. I hold everything in, I keep locked away in my head. I have never felt comfortable enough with anyone to share my past with. When I have shared bits and pieces of it I usually scare people away. Bones doesn't scare easily though and she has at least so far accepted me for who I am.

She is my partner, my best friend, she cares about Parker and he cares about her. Heck, he knew to call her when something was wrong and she came with no questions asked. She came over in the middle of the night without knowing what was wrong, she just knew Parker was scared and I was having a nightmare. She figured out pretty easily that I had taken sleeping pills and couldn't wake up even though I wanted to and yet she did not say anything about that. Instead she held me, ran her fingers through my hair and reassured Parker that I would be okay, and with her I am okay.

I woke up at six the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day. It was the first night in an extremely long time that I was able to sleep through the night. I got out of bed and took a quick shower before going back into the room to wake up Bones.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty." I said brushing the hair out of her eye. She grunted and rolled over, I couldn't help but smile, "It is six-thirty Bones." I told her and walked out so she could get up. I went into the kitchen and started making breakfast and also Parker's lunch for school. I heard Bones come out of the room and go into the bathroom and turn on the shower. The oatmeal and scrambled eggs were just about ready when Bones emerged from the bathroom ready to go for the day. She went into Parker's room and woke him up and together they came out for breakfast.

"Daddy don't forget we have a date with Bones at the park after school today." he said smiling at Bones. I knew that he wasn't reminding me, how could I forget! He was reminding Bones that indeed he did not forget her answer and wanted to remind her that he really wanted her to come with us.

I smiled at Bones and said to Parker, "I will meet you at three Parker. I didn't forget." I set down the plates of food in front of them and ate quickly.

When Parker was finished I helped him shower and get ready. When he walked back out to the living room Bones handed him his backpack and together we walked out to the car. The ride to the school was pretty quiet, I know I was thinking about the last twenty-four hours and I am sure that Bones and Parker were as well.

Pulling up to the school Parker looked up at Bones, "Remember we have a date at three Dr Bones."

Bones turned around as Parker climbed out of the car and said, "See you at three Parker." Parker jumped out of the car with the biggest smile I have ever seen and waved goodbye and ran into the school.

I stared dumbfounded at her until she punched my arm, "Booth work now." she said smiling and starting to laugh.

"Bones thank you for everything this weekend." I told her seriously once I parked at the Jeffersonian.

"Booth you don't have to thank me." She said back touching my arm.

That touch, the same touch she shared when I told her about what I did as a sniper, the same touch she shared Saturday night, and on Sunday, the touch that could bring me back from wherever my mind may have been. "You want to do lunch Bones?" I asked her when I pulled up to the Jeffersonian to drop her off.

"Pick me up at noon but it will need to be a quicker lunch if I am going to the park with you and Parker at three." She told me.

"I will bring thai and we can eat here then. That way you can work if you need and still be able to go to the park with us!" I said waving goodbye to the most amazing person I knew.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Comments keep me going! I am surprised at how many people have read my story so far! I just cant seem to stop writing. I started this story the beginning of September and that is why I have been able to post so many chapters so quickly. It has taken me a while to edit them and get them how I want. Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors...I think I have caught them all but it is easy to miss the little mistakes! **_

**_9-11 is truly a day that changed the way the world thinks and everyone that is old enough to remember the events of the day I am sure can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they first heard of the attacks. Everyone reacted differently but everyone reacted. Thank you all for reading and please share your thoughts both good and bad!_**

* * *

****I keep getting in trouble for not paying attention at school but it is not my fault. I just am too excited for me and Daddy's date with Dr Bones at three o'clock at the park. I have seen Daddy change since he started working with Dr Bones. Before he was always working and Mommy kept saying he was going to get himself killed so she didn't want me to spend that much time with him. When Daddy told Mommy that he had a partner and it was a girl she got mad at first and then changed her mind about being mad at him and then I got to see Daddy a whole lot more. I think Dr Bones said something to my Mommy but Mommy says it is grownup business.

The bell rang at three and I already had my coat and backpack on and was the first one out of the classroom. I ran all the way out to the sidewalk where I saw Daddy and Dr Bones waving from the car. She did come. I knew she would but I didn't think Daddy believed it.

All the times that Daddy got hurt Dr Bones called me and Mommy let me go have lunch with her. I don't know if Daddy even knew that we had our dates. When Daddy got blown up by Dr Bones refrigerator Mommy let me go to get pudding with Dr Bones while she talked to Daddy. When Daddy got shot by that crazy lady and Dr Bones thought Daddy was dead I saw her almost everyday. Mommy let me go spend time with her instead of going to the babysitters. She took me to museums and to the park and even to the zoo. Daddy never said anything about my dates with Dr Bones so I never said anything to him about it. I liked having a secret with a grownup. It was silly when Daddy acted all surprised that I went to Dr Bones for stuff but it is cuz he didn't know. It was kid business and so Daddy didn't know about it.

I climbed up into my booster seat and said to Dr Bones, "Can we go to where the Dinosaurs met the fish?" I asked knowing that Daddy would be clueless but Dr Bones would know exactly where that was.

I saw her look at Daddy and smile at his confused and silly face, "Sure Buddy but I don't think your Daddy knows where that is. We will have to teach him."

"I think it is about time Daddy learns something new. Well, it is old cuz dinosaurs are extinct but it is new cuz Daddy doesn't know it." I told Dr Bones.

She smiled at Daddy and told him to drive to a park different from the one me and him usually go. When we got close I told Daddy to park and we could walk the rest of the way. He kept looking from me to Dr Bones.

"Okay you two, what the heck does dinosaurs meeting fish have to do with anything and Parker how do you know about this park it is no where near your house or mine. When have you come here?"

"Silly Daddy it is halfway between Mommy's house and the Jeffersonian. I have been here lots." I said taking Dr Bones' hand and we walked down the trail with Daddy following us with the silly confused look again.

It was fun walking down the paths with Dr Bones, we kept turning and acting like we were in a maze to get Daddy all turned around. We spent like an hour walking to the pond with the dinosaur statues when it really could have taken less than five minutes. I took my shoes off and ran over to the sand pit and started digging for bones while Dr Bones sat on the bench. Daddy stood there for a long time before finally sitting down next to Dr Bones.C


	11. Chapter 11

"Okay Bones how do you and my son have a spot that I did not know about?" Booth asked me sitting down next to me on the bench.

"Booth your son and I have spent a great deal of time together."

"What? When? Where was I?"

"Well, we first spent time together when you were blown up in my kitchen. Rebecca asked me to watch him while she talked to you."

"What?"

"When I thought you were dead I called Rebecca to see how Parker was doing. I obviously did not know you were still alive and Rebecca asked if I would like to have play dates with Parker. Something about the babysitter being out of town for the week anyway and so she would meet me here with him and we spent the afternoons together."

"Bones why didn't you tell me?"

"It just never came up." I answered truthfully. I had wanted to tell him several times but never knew how to start.

"Do you still spend time together?"

"Um we spent the weekend together but you already knew that."

"No, I mean without me. Do you spend time with Parker without me?"

"Parker calls me every once in a while but since you came back I have only seen him when I was with you."

I watched him sort out his thoughts, "Bones when you thought I was dead why did you call to check on Parker?"

How do I answer that? I needed a part of him to make it through the day. I lost my partner, my best friend, I needed the connection. "I know what it is like to lose a parent." I chose as an answer. It was true, but not really my initial reason for seeking out spending time with Parker.

"I'm sorry you didn't know I was still alive Bones." he said with cloudy eyes.

"Booth…I…I needed Parker and he was great. He never said anything about you dying or still being alive and I didn't say anything either. He asked me what it was like to work with you. I told him…" I saw the look of horror in his eyes, "Booth I didn't tell him anything inappropriate for a six year olds ears." I said smiling. "I had fun spending time with Parker and I think he had fun with me."

Booth and I sat talking about random nothingness until Parker came over and said he was hungry. I stood up and grabbed Parkers hand and we walked, the short way, back to the car.

"How the heck did we get back to the car so fast when it took an hour to get to the pond?"

"That is top secret Daddy, we couldn't just take you to the place the dinosaurs meet the fish." Parker said smiling up at me.

We had pizza for dinner and then dropped Parker off at Rebecca's. The ride back to Booth's apartment seemed to take forever, neither of us said much other than commenting on other peoples driving or the song on the radio. Finally I got up the nerve to ask, "Booth are you going to be okay tonight?"

I knew he did not really want to talk about it but he needed to. I needed to. I liked staying with him, being able to help him, to spend time with his son.

Right after I asked the question he pulled the car into an empty parking lot. I looked into his eyes and they had filled with tears. "I don't know Bones." He answered.

My heart broke, for him to admit that he didn't know, that he was in fact scared of something, scared to sleep, of being alone at night. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked taking his hand in mine. He nodded but did not say anything. "Booth do you want to go home to talk about it or do you want to talk about it now?" I asked him gently.

"Home." He answered wiping his eyes and getting back on the road. Neither of us said anything until we had parked, gotten out of the car, walked into his house, and changed into sweats.

"I like how you look wearing my sweats." He said smiling and pulling me down next to him on the couch. "You actually look relaxed. It is nice to see." He said quietly before staring at his hands.

I was not sure if he was embarrassed for admitting that he liked how I looked or if he was thinking about what we were going to talk about.

"When I thought you were killed I came over here. I spent the night here a couple of nights." I admitted quietly. "I needed you. I couldn't talk to Angela. I needed to talk to you but you were the one person I couldn't talk to."

"That is why you spent time with Parker, and came over here." He said putting his hand on mine.

"The things I have been through are different than those that you have but they make me who I am and they make you who you are and I don't know…somehow it just works. Two adults who are equally messed up…it just works."

"I blame myself Bones. For my friends dying. I know that I was not the one that ran the airplane into the tower but I blame myself because I told them to stay in the room and just wait when I could have told them to get out. Then I just watched the tower burn and I tried to help as many people get out as I could before they told us to run because the tower was falling down. As soon as they let me I ran back in and helped dig through and pull people out. I was hoping that my friends somehow survived but we never found them…well they found parts of them weeks later…" He said flopping himself against the back of the couch.

I leaned into the back of the couch and let my head rest next to his, "Its hard. My roommate in college died in the tower. She called me after the plane hit. Said she could see people jumping out the windows below her and having them just disappear into the smoke. I was on the phone with her when the tower collapsed, I could hear the screaming and then nothing, the phone was still connected but no one answered, no more screaming, just silence."

"I helped pull bodies, and body parts out for a week. Then on the day my Army contract ran up I went in and turned in all my gear and drove over to Cam's and told her I was leaving."

"I helped identify bodies and body parts for months. Every weekend I drove up to New York to help. I had to find Shelby. I knew she was there somewhere. When I finally found her I finished the weekend and that was it. Once I found her I couldn't do it anymore and I went back to the bodies in limbo. They didn't have families crying for them anymore. It was easier."

"I joined the FBI in Philadelphia. I ran into Rebecca my second week at home, we were friends in high school and we got involved, that is when she got pregnant with Parker. I was there for two months before transferring to DC to go with her when her job moved. She said she didn't want to marry me but I still had to be close to my child. I worked my way up in DC pretty fast. I never kept partners for very long. I liked working by myself. I couldn't have a partner, not after losing all of my partners in the attacks."

"The FBI started asking for help identifying their bodies. They heard about what I did in New York and wanted me to do the same thing."

"Bones how is it that we went from hating working together to being here?" he asked me.

"You taught me what it meant to work with other people. That there was something outside the lab."

"You showed me who I was. You didn't make me feel like I was evil for the things I did. You accepted me for who I am." He said leaning his head over and resting it on my shoulder. I sat there for a minute before leaning my head against his.

We cried together that night, for the things we have been through, for the things we saw, for the friends we lost, for the things we knew we would see when we went back to work. We sat there on his couch leaning into each other until the sun began to rise outside the window.

"Bones I am going to call in sick for you for the week."

"I will call in for you." I told him with a sad smile.

"Director Cullen, this is Dr. Brennan…Agent Booth is going to be out this week."

"Cam, Bones is going to be out this week."

"Yes Sir, no sir, everything will be fine."

"Cam you know why. We will be back Friday."

"Thank you Sir, we will see you Thursday. He will be back at work on Friday."

"Thanks Cam."

"Thank you Sir. I will."

"Bones will you go with me to see their families?" He asked me quietly.

"If you will go with me to visit Shelby's husband and daughter." I answered.


	12. Chapter 12

_**I cant believe that I am on the 12th chapter already! This story is just stuck in my head and I dont think I will be able to move onto anything else until I get it all out. Chapters may be getting shorter, but that is because I divide the story by whose point of view it is in, sometimes I need to focus on others more but still need a small point of interest from anothers point of view to break it up...I think that makes sense... Anyways, I am going to be combining Parker's point of view with that of the squints, the day affected them too! Hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

God this has been a long week and it is only Monday. Last year I went to Mexico to get away only I didn't get away because the memorial services were all over the world. I never thought that I would hear about the sixth anniversary of the Trade Center Attack or the Attack on the Pentagon or the plane that crashed down near Shanksville. I thought I would be safe to escape in Mexico, safe to run away for a week and come back and be fine. I wasn't though. I was not fine and I knew I couldn't run anymore.

I had to go visit their families. Tell them I am sorry for telling them to stay. I called them all and told them the news that they had indeed died in the attack. I told them before we were even done searching and pulling bodies out of the wreckage. I knew there was no way they could have survived so I called them to tell them, sometimes the worry is worse than knowing. I knew, I told.

Only I was too scared to tell them in person. It was my fault and I knew it and I was too much of a coward to go and tell them face to face.

"Bones will you go with me to see their families?" I asked her after hanging up with Cam.

"If you will go with me to visit Shelby's husband and daughter." She answered.

I turned and looked at the clock on the wall. It was eight, we had been up for over twenty-four hours. Without sleep my emotions run rampant. It does not seem to affect her in the same way though, she just stays the same, the Same old Bones, my best friend.

"I want pancakes." She said smiling at me. "If we are going to be hiding out this week I want pancakes. Lets go to the store Booth."

She always had a plan, a logical thing to do to go along with the illogical. She was taking a week off of work for me. Usually I have to practically beg her to go across the street to the diner for lunch.

We went to the store and got enough junk food to feed us for months and about fifteen different movies to keep our minds off of the events of the week, at least for a while. After we made pancakes we sat down on the couch and turned on the movie Men In Black. When that movie ended we watched the second one. Then we watched all five of the Harry Potter movies. Then we turned on Yours, Mine and Ours; not the one that Parker liked, I couldn't stand that movie, we watched the original with Lucile Ball and Henry Fonda. Bones said she watched it over and over when she was younger.

I do not remember falling asleep, I watched as Bones nodded off, she kept leaning closer and closer to me before she finally leaned against me and fell asleep. Having her with me felt amazing. A best friend who would do anything for me, a best friend who has done more for me than I ever imagined even she would be able to do.


	13. Chapter 13

_**So a new point of view, Cullen has not had much of a part thus far this season but I still like him as a character so I am using him. PLEASE Comment and let me know what you all think. **_

* * *

__"Director Cullen, this is Dr. Brennan."

"Dr Brennan it is early, is everything okay?" I asked the doctor. What did her and Booth get into now I couldn't help but wonder.

"Agent Booth is going to be out this week." She told me, I could hear in the background Booth talking I was sure to Dr. Saroyan. These two…if they were not the best at what they did I would not put up with them.

"Is everything okay Dr Brennan?" I asked.

"Yes Sir."

"Is Agent Booth sick?" I asked already knowing he wasn't.

"No Sir."

"Are you sure? He has been acting off this week."

"Everything will be fine." She answered simply.

"You take care of your partner this week. Are you still going to be at the ceremony?" I asked assuming that this stunt at a week off had something to do with Booth's reaction to the anniversary. The more I thought about it the more I realized I was right, he has taken vacation the first part of September every year since he started here.

"Thank you Sir, we will see you Thursday and he will be back to work Friday."

"Okay Dr. Brennan. See you then." I said getting off the phone.

Those two are always up to something. I had to call Dr. Sweets and see if they had said anything to him. They meet with him at least once a week and have been for about a year. He should know what is going on.

"Dr Sweets I have a question for you." I said when he answered.

"You want to know why they took the week off don't you." He answered smugly.

"Yes, I assume they have discussed this with you."

"No Sir, I just got a call from Cam asking what was going on and she said something about Booth breaking up with her and moving away from New York but she was talking so fast I couldn't keep up."

"So they have not said anything to you?"

"I just said that Sir."

"You meet with them on Tuesdays don't you?"

"I do."

"Then you find out what the heck is going on with My Agent." I said hanging up the phone.

I got onto the computer and pulled up Booth's file. Army from 1991-2001. He did not reenlist after the towers fell. Ranger beginning in 1995. Sniper beginning in 1998. Mostly secret missions from 1999 until he left in 2001. Was due to go to Iraq September 12th. Squad he was set to go with…all deceased. All deceased?

I had to look into it farther. I called up my pal, a general, at the local base and asked him to find out for me. I was on hold for less than five minutes before he came back on the line.

"The squad Seeley Booth was planned to ship out with was meeting in tower two when the plane hit. He was the only survivor. Obviously his last mission was scratched and with all the chaos we did not have the man power to get him to re-up again.

I thanked him and got off the phone. He lost his friends when the towers fell. He was with them. He should have died with them. Thank God he didn't, all of the people him and that brainy partner of his have taken off the streets. But wow. I can see why he took vacation time, I would too.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Okay so I combined two points of view for this chapter... LEAVE COMMENTS!! Are you enjoying this story?? Do you hate it?? **_

* * *

__I could tell he was tired, I was too, I just couldn't seem to get comfortable and fall asleep. Logically that made sense since we were sitting on the couch and now laying in our beds. Booth kept nodding off and every time his head fell back it woke him up again. I laid my head down on his lap and closed my eyes. I knew I wouldn't sleep well, if at all but knew that he would move so that he was holding me a bit more and then his head wouldn't keep flopping and he would stay asleep once he fell asleep.

I woke up a half hour later and sure enough he had fallen asleep. I slowly sat up, he did not wake up, I went into his bedroom and pulled back the blankets and fluffed up the pillows before walking back to the living room. "Come on Seeley lets go to bed to actually sleep." I whispered into his ear. He did not even wake up when I pulled his arm around my shoulder and pulled him up and led him into his bedroom. I helped him into the bed and pulled the blanket up to his chest before crossing to the other side and climbing into bed next to him.

I had just started to fall asleep when he rolled over and put his arm around me, in sleep he was quite the snuggler, something that I definitely did not picture of my partner. Though he is always the protector and has male tendencies he did show a lot of affection towards those he truly cared about. I guess I just never saw it before, the affection was his way of seeking comfort while awake, in sleep he was not as stealth. I smiled and snuggled into him and fell asleep.

I did not wake up until nearly noon when Booth rolled over and his arm was no longer holding me. "Good morning Booth." I said rolling over to face him.

"How long have you been awake?" He asked me sleepily.

"Since you rolled over."

"I don't remember coming into bed." He said looking confused.

"Well you cant expect me to sleep on the couch all night so I brought you in here." I told him. Duh. How else would he have gotten in here?

"You brought me? Without waking me up?"

"Yes Booth, you were asleep, I told you that you needed to come into the bedroom and then I led you in here. You would think an Army Ranger wouldn't be so easy to get to do things." I said with a smirk.

"Hmm…" He said obviously trying to figure out how I was able to lead him when no one else would have been able to. Or at least that is what it seemed like to me.

* * *

She got me to get up off the couch and walk into my bedroom and to lay down in bed…without me waking up, without me even remembering.

I wake up if even Parker walks into my room when I am sleeping. I woke up when Cam even rolled over in her sleep, or Tessa. How did Bones not wake me up when she got me to go from one room to the other?

"Is it really that shocking to you Booth?" She asked me still smirking.

"Yes Bones. It is, I mean I just don't get it. I cant ever sleep through anything. Hell, usually I cant even sleep."

"Are you going to be paranoid about it until you figure it out?" She asked me her smirkish grin getting even bigger.

"Are you telling me that you know why I didn't wake up?" I asked even more confused.

"Yup."

"I don't think so Bones. There is no way…"

"Booth it is very simple." She said getting out of bed and grabbing her stuff for a shower.

I sat there completely dumbfounded while she took her shower, when she came back in she sat down next to me and whispered something into my ear. Something that made everything make sense. Why she was able to get me to sleep, why she was able to get me to walk from one room to the other, why she always knew what to say…

* * *

I looked around the corner when I walked out of the bathroom, he still hadn't figured it out. I went over and sat down on the bed next to him and whispered, "Trust Booth. Unconditional trust."

I got up and went out to the kitchen to start making breakfast. He needed time to figure it out. I heard him go in and start the shower. The French toast was finished by the time he came out and I sat a few slices on a plate and handed it to him and carried my own over to the table where I covered it with maple syrup. I handed him the bottle when I had finished with it because I knew he would use all that was left.

"Bones I…" He started talking.

"Booth we are Partners."

"I know but I never thought about it. I mean I have had partners before but it was never like this. I trusted them with my life but I did not trust them nearly as much as I trust you."

"It isn't the first time you know." I said smiling and thinking back to a few months prior.

"Not the first time for what?" He asked confused.

"Not the first time I have gotten you to do something when you were sleeping. I actually didn't think it would work the first time but Angela told me to try it anyway, it was after she figured out she could do it with Hodgins."

"Bones what are you talking about?"

"Seriously Booth, I thought you would for sure wake up but you didn't. It was humorous actually. Angela and I had a laughing fit after."

"Bones?"

I had a hard time talking I was laughing so hard, "It was after Grave Digger. You fell asleep on the couch up on the balcony. Angela dared me to get you to my office without waking you up. She told me to whisper what I was going to do into your ear and then just do it. She said she did it to him the night before. We didn't think it would work on you but…"

"I get it Bones." He said starting to smile.

"See so it is trust, you trust me completely even if you don't like it and I can make you do stuff." I said smiling.

"I love it Bones." He said quietly, "I mean it is kinda weird that you can play me like a pawn but I like that even when I am asleep and must vulnerable I trust you. I haven't ever had that before."


	15. Chapter 15

_**This Chapter is Angela's POV. Since she always seems to be the one who knows what is going to happen before it happens I thought her POV would be fun…but mostly it is a filler...enjoy and be sure to comment!  
**_

* * *

It took two hours of constantly asking before Cam finally told me that Booth had called in saying she would be out for the rest of the week. I knew something was up so I did a little snooping. Cullen said my friends were nuts and I was even nuttier if I thought I would get an answer out of him…twenty minutes later he finally caved and told me that Bren had called in to say that Booth would be out until Friday. Ten more minutes on the phone with him I got Booth's history out of him and knew why they had taken the week off.

I had to call her and find out what they were up to. They couldn't just spend time at home for a week. She does not know how to sit and do nothing so they must be up to something. Booth trusted her with his life and shared stuff with her that he never even talks about. She let it slip the last case we worked that involved the military. She made me swear never to say anything to him and said that my life depended on it. I knew she couldn't keep that threat but I knew for both their sakes I had to keep my mouth shut.

I had to call twice before he finally answered her phone, "Hello Angela. How can we help you?" He asked, I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"Booth put Bren on the phone."

"Nope. She isn't working this week." He answered like a five year old.

"I'm not calling for work Dummy."

"Dummy?"

"Well you are acting like a five year old so I might as well too. Let me talk to my best friend before I have a temper tantrum." I said smiling.

I heard rustling around and then she answered, "Hi Ange."

"That's it? Hi Ange? You have Booth call in for you and you call for him and all I get is a hi? What is going on with you two."

"Ange you already know what it is about. Did you want to meet us tonight?"

"Yes I do. But I want to know what you guys are doing to keep busy all week."

"Eight at the diner." She said hanging up.

Those two…Bren's college roommate died in the attack. I knew that would not cause her to take a week off of work. Usually she threw herself into work. But Booth, he made it different, he had to have something about the attacks haunting him. Something that she had managed to get him to share with her.

Time dragged on until eight. I was at the diner at seven-thirty waiting not so patiently for the two of them. They walked in the door laughing at 8:02. They sat down across from me like nothing was going on.

"Okay you two. I already got you a pie and coffee coming Booth and Bren I ordered fries for us to share. What the heck is going on?"

"We just needed time off." Booth answered looking at Bren.

"Ya, there wasn't a case and it seemed like as good of time as any." She answered looking up at Booth.

"Cut the crap. I know you are out because of what happened seven years ago. I understand both of you…" Booth looked at me questioningly, "yes Booth Both of you. I talked to Cullen this morning, and for an FBI agent it was easier to get stuff out of him than it was Cam. I understand why you both took time off but I don't understand why either of you just didn't say anything to me about what was really going on."

"Angela it happened fast. I wasn't going to take the week off but then Parker called me Saturday night." She answered looking guiltily at Booth, he nodded giving her permission to share. "I went over to Booth's house Saturday night and have not really left."

Okay I'm confused. Parker called Bren? She has been living over there?

"I had taken my sleeping pills as usual and unfortunately had nightmares, which are why I have the pills in the first place…Parker was scared so he called Bones…who apparently he has been having secret meetings with for quite some time…and she came over."

"Oh ya Bren and Parker have play dates whenever you get hurt. That's no news. So what is haunting your dreams Booth?" I figured I might as well ask since they were talking.

I saw Bren put her hand on his arm and squeeze it. "Five of my friends died when the second tower fell." He answered, his eyes misted and I instantly understood.

"You think it is your fault Booth but it isn't."

"How in the hell does she know that?" Booth quietly asked Bren without looking at me.

"Booth, you blame yourself whenever anything bad happens. I have been working with you for four years. Its not exactly a secret." I said reaching my hand across the table and putting it on his.

"This week is tough. We are going to visit his friends' families and also going to go visit Shelby's family. We will be going to the FBI memorial on Thursday and then back to work on Friday." Bren answered me softly still holding Booth's arm.

I almost felt bad for pushing them to tell me what was going on but I deserved to know.

"You guys do what you need to. Jack and I are here if either of you need to talk." I said getting up and giving them both quick hugs and walking out of the diner. They got up and walked out a couple minutes later holding each others hands.


	16. Chapter 16

We talked late into the night about Shelby, her husband and her daughter. Her daughter just turned ten and is at the top of her class at her private school. Her dad was a science teacher at the local high school. They had since moved out of New York and they were now living in Kentucky near Shelby's family. He always said that if Shelby couldn't be a part of Payton's life then her family sure as hell would be. I called them once a year on Shelby's birthday and we sent cards back and forth but I had not seen either of them in person since the funeral.

I stood in the doorway of the bathroom watching him look through a dusty photo album, one that I was sure had his friends in it that died. He had not said anything about them as individuals, when he spoke of them he spoke of them as a group, a unit, not ever as individuals. When he finally looked up I walked out to the living room and asked who he wanted to visit first. We already set up a time to meet with Levi and Payton on Wednesday. They were flying up to New York for the memorial at the site and were getting in the afternoon before.

"You look so young." I said sitting down next to him and looking at the picture in the center of the page he had it opened to.

"I was nineteen. It was the day Jeremy and I were being shipped out the first time. We had quite the reputation. We could read each other and could communicate nonverbally better than anyone else who went into camp together. The General finally agreed to train us together as special forces. Sniper and lookout. You always go as double and Jeremy and I were the best they had seen…or so they told us over and over and over again." He said as he turned the page.

It was a group shot of him and five others, he did not look much older, except in his eyes, the shine and excitement of a boy was gone. He pointed to each one, "This is Derek, that is Mitchell, Jeremy, me, that is Adrian and the one in the crazy hat is Jason."

"You were in Iraq." I said looking at the background.

"How do you know that?" He asked confused.

"I was there. Not then, but in 2000. The Army asked me to identify the remains of a Blackhawk crash." I told him.

"I want to go see Derek and Mitchell's families. Their wives were also in the Army and still are. They live on Fort Dix. Jason's wife lives not to far from base and Adrian's kids live with his parents about five miles from Dix."

"I guess we are going to Jersey today then. Did you call and tell them we are coming?" I asked.

He nodded and we walked out to the car. Three and a half hours later we were at the gate for Fort Dix and they asked to see our ID's.

I followed Booth's lead as we walked up to the door. I was not sure if we were at Derek's or Mitchell's families home, he didn't say and I didn't ask. A beautiful young woman answered the door and threw her arms around his neck and immediately started crying. I had tears in my eyes as I watched the show of raw emotion. A couple minutes later she pulled back and Booth with tears in his eyes looked over at me.

"Terra this is Bones." He said quietly introducing me.

"Dr. Brennan it is so nice to finally meet you." She said pulling me into a tight embrace."

"Seel writes us all the time, Kristin and I get together often and share our letters. The guys were all so close. Please come in. Kristin will be over in a few minutes, she was just waiting for the kids to get home from school. They all have half days all week for 9-11. Family time or something to that sort. A lot of people based her have lost family since the war started so this is their way to give back to the kids." She explained as she led us into the living room.

Booth walked over to a picture on the wall, the same one he showed me before we left his house. Kristin walked in while he was lost in the picture followed by two adolescent girls, two pre-adolescent girls and two pre-adolescent boys. I stood up and Kristin came over and gave me a hug and waited for Booth to even notice she was in the room. The kids all walked straight through and into the backyard.

"That picture was taken at the end of their first mission together as a unit. Every time they got shipped out they went together." Kristin said when she saw me smile sadly at Booth.

Hearing her voice Booth turned around and wrapped her in a hug and held her. I could see his shoulders begin to shake and could tell his shield had broken. Kristin held him tight until he regained his composure and then he came and sat next to me on the couch.

"Bones, Terra was married to Derek and Kristin was married to Mitch." He said, I nodded and then Kristin continued.

"Allison belongs to me, Destiny belongs to Terra. They are three weeks apart and were both born when the unit was in Iraq the second time. The guys were gone less than a month and yet they both managed to miss their first born girls being born. They were both delivered a month early though so you cant blame the guys. They are both sixteen next month. I had triplets, two boys and a girl, Aaden, Aaron and Alexis, they are ten. Terra has the youngest, that is Faith, she is nine."

"Their Uncle Seeley sends them all kinds of crazy presents for their birthday every year but we have not seen him in person since the funeral." Terra said softly patting Booth on the leg.

They shared stories for a half hour or so before Booth became quiet. He needed to tell them what happened that day, he just didn't know where to start.

"They seem to be doing well after losing their fathers in the attack." I said quickly.

"Ya, Allison and Destiny are really the only ones who even remember what happened and they were still very young. They have groups and stuff at school that they are able to talk about losing a parent, unfortunately it is a commonality with Army life."

"It is my fault they died." Booth whispered wringing his hangs together so tight his knuckles were white.

The three of us become silent and looked over at him.

"I told them to stay where they were. To wait for directions and I went down to find out what was going on. As I walked out of the building the plane hit the same room I just came out of." He answered leaning forward and putting his head in his hands.

Terra got up and kneeled down in front of him, Kristin moved closer and put her arm around him from one side and I from the other. Terra lifted his chin with her hand and looked him in the eye. "Seeley what happened is not your fault. We do not blame you in the least. We are happy you survived, even if that meant that Derek and Mitchell had to die." She said without blinking, without her voice wavering.

"Seeley you were a family. We knew what happened and we never for a second blamed you. The only blame lies with those who hijacked the planes. That is it. Not you, not the Army, no one other than the pilots."

We held him as he cried, he was finally starting to release his guilt, the guilt he had held for the last seven years, we all cried together for the loss of our family, our friends, I did not ever meet Derek or Mitchell but they were family to Booth and he was my family.

Our hug was broken up by Faith coming in and walking over to Booth. She climbed up on his lap and said quietly, "My Daddy was your friend. He doesn't want you to be sad anymore. He said you have been sad for too long and he wants to see you smile again."

"Faith how do you know what your daddy wants?" He asked her as a tear slid down his cheek.

"My Daddy told me. He said to tell you that they are watching out for you like you did for them. I don't really know what he meant but he said that we have to remember."

"When did your Daddy tell you that?" Terra asked her.

"Before I left for school today. Daddy said that his old friend was coming to visit and that I needed to tell him."

* * *

_**I cut off this chapter for a reason...that being said my reason to cut it off there is that everyone will interpret the ending differently and I do not want to inhibit people's visions of how the conversation ended. I will not pick up my next chapter with the ending of the conversation. Please leave comments! The next chapter will begin with Booth visiting Adrian and Jason's families...**_

_**Hope you are enjoying this, I love feedback!!**_


	17. Chapter 17

I wished that it was not so hard to see people I used to consider family. It has been seven years almost to the day when I said goodbye for the last time. I ran away because of fear, an irrational fear that it was my fault they had died when the reality of it was that I was saved and they were not. I do not know why I was saved and they weren't and it is not fair, not fair that I lived, not fair that they died, not fair that children lost their parents, that parents lost their children. September 11th in 2001 many people saw the ugly side of not fair and life sucks. The strength that the nation as a whole showed after the attack though, that is heroism at its finest. One Nation, One life, people from coast to coast felt a loss that day. Some people dealt with it better than others though. Some people stood up to fight, some people ran away.

I was one of those who ran away and I regretted it everyday but I was too scared to just turn around. Too scared until this year, with my best friend. Now I have part of my family back, it isn't the same, and it never will be, but I have them just the same and in a few minutes I am going to see Adrian and Jason's families.

We walked into the community center to a private room in the corner where a petite blonde haired woman sat looking at a box of old photos and two boys sat playing video games in the corner while their grandparents looked at the photos with the young blonde woman. I stopped in the doorway and watched them as they smiled and shared stories, Bones took my hand and squeezed it and I mustered up the nerve to walk into the room.

Bones pushed me into the room and over to the table where Adrian's mom stood up and pulled me into one of the tightest hugs I have ever had. "I'm so sorry." I blurted out along with a burst of tears. I felt as if I had reverted to Parker's age again. "It is all my fault." I said crying into her shoulder. Like the mom she is she held me while I cried. I felt Bones put her hand on my shoulder and squeeze it before I heard her introducing herself.

"Hi, I'm Temperance." I heard her say to I assume Tia who stood up and came over and gave her a quick hug.

"Jason and I got married when he joined the Army right out of high school. He always said that he wanted to wait to have kids until he was done with the military. He never wanted it as a career. I help with Jason and Adrian over there sometimes so Carol and Phil can get a break." She said pretty much telling her life story. I had a hard time listening because I was trying to stop crying but the harder I tried to stop the more I felt like an idiot and it would make me cry even harder.

"What happened to their Mother?" I heard Bones ask gently.

"Gina was pregnant with the twins when the attack happened. When she heard the news she went into early labor. They had to deliver the boys and they were unable to stop the bleeding. She died on September 13th. She hung on long enough to name the boys though, Jason Seeley and Adrian Jeremy. Seeley and Jeremy were like big brothers to Jason, Adrian, Mitch and Derek even though they were only a couple years older. Seeley is the twins' Godfather. She said walking to me, I let go of my grip on Carol and wrapped my arms around her.

Bones finally came back over and gave me a hug, "Have Faith." she whispered into my ear. I remembered what that little girl had said and I smiled. I sat down with Bones at the table and looked through the pictures. Tia had found some pictures I hadn't ever seen. Most were candid shots we had sent back while we were over seas but some were of family barbeques or days at the beach.

"I am sorry." I said again this time without crying.

"Stop." Phil said sternly to me. "You did not fly the damn plane into the building killing all those people. You loved our Boy like he was your own brother. Hell he was your brother. We couldn't get the six of you to do anything on your own. It was like you were attached at the hip. We used to call Adrian to come for a small family barbeque and fifteen people would end up showing up. You lost all your brothers. We lost one son, Tia lost one husband. You lost five brothers. AJ and Jase are growing up with love and know that their parents died loving them. It sucks but it is life and we all know it ain't fair."

He was right but it didn't make me feel any better. I went over to the boys, whom I have seen only four times since they were born seven years ago. "Do you want to play with us?" AJ asked me. I joined them in their game trading the DS back and forth with whoever's turn it was, they were not much older than Parker.

After a few rounds Jason asked, "I know my middle name is your name. Why did Mommy want us named after all you guys?"

"Jason you already know. Your mom wrote you all letters before she died." Carol answered him.

"Did Mommy write you any letters?" AJ asked me.

I shook my head and was getting ready to say no when Carol reached into the box and pulled one out, it was still sealed in an envelope. "Yes. She did. She said to give it to you when you were ready to read it."

I looked up shocked, "but why?" I asked but I couldn't get my voice to work so I think it sounded more like a squeak.

"The doctors told her that they did not know if they were going to be able to stop the bleeding so before she agreed to go in for surgery she demanded that we leave her alone with a pad of paper and a handful of envelopes. There was one for Phil and I, one for Tia, Kristin, Terra, Brittany and you. And one for each significant event in the boys lives, their fifth birthday, turning 16, graduating high school, graduating college, getting married, having a baby…she wrote for everything. She told me she did it and said to give the ones to you guys when you were ready. You are the last one I am giving it to. You do not have to open it now, but when you are ready. You open it."

I put the envelop in my inside pocket next to my heart. I spent the rest of the evening with the family I had been too scared to see, to have a real conversation with, it all felt very silly now and I could feel the weight lifting off my shoulders as I apologized to my boys' families. I realized logically that it was not my fault and I cannot blame myself, though I still do, I just realize now that it is part of God's plan and one day it will all make sense to me, until then I have to learn to live with it.


	18. Chapter 18

_**This chapter was challenging to write, I can picture the story in my head but figuring out what words to put to set across the pain and loss he feels is hard! I do not own Bones or any of its characters but would love to meet the writers of the show to tell them to show more of the personal sides of the actors...though I am not sure if I really want that because then there would not be as much left up to my imagination...anyways...TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!**_

* * *

__Booth and I left the community center a little after midnight. He had carried the twins out to Carol and Phil's car since they had fallen asleep on the couches. Booth agreed to call the next time he was in town and he vowed to visit them more than once ever seven years.

Instead of driving all the way home just to come back a few hours later we got a small hotel room overlooking the city. I changed into sweats and a t-shirt and sat on the edge of the bed. Booth stood by the window staring at the two beams of light in the distance. He was holding the letter in his shaky hand.

I walked over and put my arm around his waist. "I want to read it you know." He said to me with sad eyes, "Gina was Brittany's best friend. That is how Adrian met her. The four of us grew up together. It was almost harder to lose her than it was to lose Adrian but it kind of all blended together they all died at the same time. I went to see her that night, the night she had the twins. I told her what happened. She was the only person I talked to about what happened. I tried to talk to Cam and couldn't. That is why I left New York. Gina's parents died when we were still in high school, that is why the boys are with Adrian's parents."

"You will read it when you are ready." I told him sitting back down on the edge of the bed giving him a little space. He stood there for a few more minutes before coming over and sitting on the bed next to me.

"Will you read it to me?" I hated seeing him so vulnerable. He is always the one taking care of me, protecting me from getting hurt and holding me when I was. I nodded a yes and he handed me the letter.

I opened it slowly and looked at the first few lines, "Booth are you sure you are ready?" I asked before reading it out loud. He thought for a minute before nodding. He laid his head down using my knee as a pillow and holding a pillow to his chest.

"Dear Seeley," I started, I put one hand on his shoulder and held him while reading. "This letter is one that I never dreamed of writing but cannot go without doing so. You have been my best friend since we were seven. You and Jeremy were Holy terrors, always stealing my dolls and catching us with squirt guns. The older we got the closer to you and Jeremy I became. I never thanked you two enough for introducing me to Adrian. When you came here to tell me that he died I knew that you did all that you could to keep him safe. You always did. I never imagined that you came to tell me that all five of them died. I cannot even imagine what you are going through right now. Seeley, Jeremy told me about some of your missions and the lengths you went to in order to bring them all home safe. I may have lost my husband today but you lost your best friend, your entire unit and if what the doctors say is true I will not be here much longer. I named the twins after the four of you. Adrian and Jason of course for their father and his best friend, and you and Jeremy. I knew it is what Adrian would have wanted. The boys will grow up with the names of four heroes." I ran my finger across his cheek wiping the silent tears that were falling.

"Booth do you want me to go on?" I asked. He nodded, "Seeley, I want you to promise me you will teach my boys about you guys. I know Adrian's parents will take care of them but I want them to know who their parents really were, not just who their parents thought they were. I want you to tell them stories of their mom and dad being crazy teenagers, newlyweds, all of that. The good and the bad. I know that you will do your best and that is why I am making you their God Father. Brittany will be their God Mother so the two of you better take care of them. If you don't I will hunt you down and haunt you. I know this is not easy for you and am not sure how long it will be before Carol decides you are ready to read this even. I just want you to know that I love you with all of my heart and soul and cherish you for giving me the time I had with Adrian. Do not blame yourself for what happened the last few days and live for the future. You have always taken the blame when bad stuff happens and you need to break the habit. I love you Seeley Booth and always will. Thank you for everything you have done and everything you will continue to do for my boys."

I folded the letter and tucked it safely back in its envelope and set it on the night stand. Seeley rolled over and put his face into my stomach. I ran my fingers through his hair and wrapped myself around him and held him.

After a few minutes he got up and walked over to the window. "Bones?" He said looking over at me, I got up and walked to him. He put his arm around my shoulders, I felt him gently kiss the top of my head and instantly got goose bumps down my arms. "Will you hold me tonight?"

I gently wrapped both my arms around him and slid them up his back holding him in a tight embrace, "Because there has always been heartache and pain and when its over you'll breathe again, when you feel all alone and the world has turned its back on you. Give me a moment please to tame your wild, wild heart…" I said reciting lyrics to my favorite song, one that always reminded me of him, Crash and Burn by Savage Garden, somehow the lyrics seemed to fit tonight.

"Come lay with me Seeley." I said using his name, something I almost never did. I led him over to the bed and pulled back the covers. He pulled off his shirt and took off his shoes and slid off his pants and crawled in laying his head on my chest, arm held tight around my waste. I leaned my head down so my lips were rested against his forehead. "Sleep now Booth." I said letter my breath breeze through his short hair.


	19. Chapter 19

"I love you Bones." I whispered softly as I closed my eyes. She wiped the last tear from my cheek and tightened her hold on me. I felt her softly kiss my forehead before I closed my eyes and fell asleep in her arms. I awoke alone in the bed the next morning, I was worried that she had left, that I had scared her off. I rolled over beginning to panic and saw a note on the pillow.

Booth, Went to get food. Be back soon. Love always, Bones.

I got up and went into the shower, she had not left, I do not know what I would do if she had. The mere thought of it caused the tears to start to fall again. I turned the water as hot as it would go and stood in it as my skin went raw as it was burned by the heat. I needed the pain, physical pain to break the emotional pain I was unable to control. Physical pain was controllable.

I sank to my knees as the hot water ran to luke warm, then cool, then cold. I let the water wash away my tears. My friends died seven years ago and it still felt like yesterday. The pain was so strong and I tried so hard everyday to hide it away and most of the time I succeed at hiding it. This week, the second week in September, I just couldn't do it anymore, I did not know how to hide it anymore and instead of a little coming out it is as if my emotions are exploding. I hated the feeling, I hated being so out of control, needing someone as much as I did, I felt weak. I was exhausted, not physically but mentally, and if I did not have Bones here with me I do not know what I would do. I just could not take the pain any longer. With the freezing water pounding on my back I let out a cry of grief and fall to my knees. I lost control over my emotions and lay there hunched over in the shower as freezing water continued to fall and wash my tears down the drain.

"Booth?" I heard her calling from the room, I let out a sob, a whimper, my heart hurt so much it felt like it was breaking. I heard the door open and saw her rush over to me and turn off the water and felt her wrap a warm towel around me as she pulled me close to her warm body. She felt so far away and so close at the same time. I did not feel like I was there, I felt like I was somewhere else watching my body act and react to the pain I had been hiding inside. She held me on the floor of the bathroom while I lost it. I do not know how long I was on the floor, a naked broken man, barely a skeleton of the man she knew as her partner and yet she stayed.

She pulled me out of the shower and held me as close as she could bring me to her body. I could tell she was talking but I was so far away I just could not hear what she was saying. She pulled another towel off the rack and wrapped it around me and held me. She cried seeing me in so much pain and the longer I was on the floor the tighter she held me until I was on her lap entangled completely with her.

"Booth, Honey look at me." I heard her say, it sounded like a whisper coming through a long tunnel. I looked up into her blue eyes and saw a ray of hope. A way for me to come back home, "Booth, Baby are you okay?" She asked me. I nodded my head and leaned my head into her chest. She held me until I was ready, she did not say I needed to hurry and get ready or we would be late, she knew that it would not do any good. She held me and knew that when I was ready she could let go and I knew that she would not let go until I was ready for her to do so. I gave her a hug and pulled the towel around my waste and stood up. She watched me as I walked into the room and got dressed and ready. Once I was dressed she came out of the bathroom and went over to the window. "It is a shame you cant see the light during the day."

I knew that was her way of seeing if I was really okay. I knew that she would never mention me completely losing it. I knew she would keep this whole week just between her and I unless together we shared it with someone else. I knew that she would always be here for me and that she would never give up on me. I'm not quite sure what it all means, everything is different once again but this time the difference is good. I am finally good, or at least on the way back to being good. Now I just had to make it through my visit with Brittany. Then tonight I was going with Bones to meet Payton and Levi and our roles would be flipped once again.

We met Brittany at a small park in NYC that we all used to go to. Where we used to play football, throw around Frisbees and just have fun. She ran up to me and jumped into my arms. We fell to the ground laughing. Seeing Brittany was different than the others, I had seen her since Jeremy died. I was their when she married Kyle and when she had a baby boy, that she named Jeremy. Kyle was another soldier that Jeremy and I had served with and he knew our unit though he was not in it. Her and Jeremy's son Carter was eleven and Brittany would let him come and stay with me some weekends to spend time with Parker and I would see them when I went to visit my parents. When I asked where the boys were she said that Kyle had taken them to the memorial museum, the same place I took Parker a few days earlier.

It was weird to talk to her about Jeremy. We all grew up together. When the Unit died she was the only one I couldn't turn my back on. I grew up with her and her husband was my best friend. She was the only person from my past that I talked to, but we never talked about that day. After the funeral we never even mentioned the deaths, it was just too hard for both of us.

We had lunch with her at a local pizza joint and planned on meeting for breakfast at five the next morning and that we would all go to the memorial together before Bones and I headed back to DC. When she left she said she was going to meet up with the other wives to have dinner and let the kids play together. Bones and I walked her back to her car and said goodbye.

Then Bones and I walked down the street to our car and we drove across town to a small apartment building. We parked and then crossed the street to a small park. Bones ran ahead and picked up a young girl and swung her around. I watched as she smiled when the little girl squealed "Tempeeeeeee".


	20. Chapter 20

_**9/11 is a sensitive subject area for many people. I was a senior in high school when the attack happened and I remember watching television while eating my breakfast when all the channels switched to breaking news...I did not see the first tower get hit but I was glued to my television when the second one hit. The only time that day I did not have my eyes glued to the television was going to and from school. I was in my spanish class watching CNN when the towers fell. The principal got on the intercom and said that we were to stay in those classes for the remainder of the day and if we needed to go home we would not be penalized for missing class. It was surreal. Sitting in with classmates, crying with classmates and teachers, texting loved ones. **_

_**We knew that it would change our lives and it did. My graduating class had 422 students, of those 422, 108 joined the military. Only 30 were already planning on joining after graduation, but after 9/11... Luckily all 108 of my classmates all have made it home safe and the majority of whom are now out of the military. All but three served in Iraq or Afganistan, some served in both places. Some were sent out, came home, and sent out again. Some were injured, none very bad but knowing so many people who served, knowing that the majority of those serving are my age or younger, it is scary. **_

_**A crazy thought. One that I am not sure if the polititians think about when they talk about the war. They know what it was like during Vietnam, the Cold War, and the first Gulf War. This war is different. Weapons are more advanced, the soldiers are learning as they go instead of the major training before they are sent out, there are not enough soldiers to fight this war. **_

_**I am not trying to push my political opinions on anyone and hope that through my story I have left my opinions out and used only facts from the day and portrayed the feelings of those affected. Please share your stories, I know it is a hard thing to talk about, and there are so many people reading my story. Please comment, everyone was affected and it does not matter if you were 2 or 92 when the attack happened, or if you were not even born yet! It changed the world and everyone should have some sort of reaction to this story, I just want you to share it!**_

_**Hope you are still enjoying my story, there are going to be several more chapters and I would like to put in more personal stories, so if you have any you want to be shared let me know!**_

* * *

__I called Brennan tonight and she said that her and Booth just left the park after spending the evening with Payton and Levi. She said she had a blast, as she always does when she gets to see her old friend. I told her that we were all going to drive up early for the memorial and she said that we should meet her for breakfast.

Then Booth stole the phone, "Hi Ange, thanks for letting me kidnap your friend. She helped me do things this week I have been too chicken to do for the last seven years."

"I am glad Booth. See you for breakfast."

"Wait, Ange would you be able to pick up Parker from Rebecca's and bring him up?" He asked me. I told him I would and he said that he had already arranged with Rebecca for her to get him and miss a day of school.

"Am I still suppose to pretend that I don't know where Rebecca's is and ask for directions?" I asked sarcastically.

"Thanks Angela. See you guys in the morning."

"Anytime G-Man." I said and he got off the phone.

It was great to hear that my two best friends, other than Jack were finally dealing with all the crap they have been hiding away for so long, mostly Booth. Bren has at least made an attempt to get past what has happened.

I got off the phone and went across the lab and stopped behind Jack. "Can we play nice for a day and all go to the memorial together?" I asked.

"Angie you know I would do anything for you." He answered turning around and giving me a hug. It had been awkward since we broke off our engagement and there were many moments I just wanted to grab him and drag him off to the closest storage room, but there were just as many where I felt like I could rip off his head.

"Cam and Sweets are going with us and we have to pick up Parker on the way."

"A full car…hmm…which one should I drive?" He asked me.

I hit him on the shoulder and sarcastically answered, "A red one."

"Do you want to stay at my place tonight so it is one less stop in the morning?" He asked me walking into my office a little while later.

"Cam and Sweets are meeting us at your place at three and we are picking up Parker twenty minutes later."

"Angela do you want to stay at my place tonight?" He asked me again.

I didn't know what to say, I wanted to scream out yes and run into his arms and go back to what we were before but I knew I couldn't. Neither of us were ready for that. He must have sensed my tension and put his hand on mine, "Ange as friends. You can stay in one of the guest rooms if you feel more comfortable."

I nodded and let him lead me out to his car and we went back to his place, the place I called home for over a year. What a week this has been. I hope everything goes well tomorrow.


	21. Chapter 21

It is interesting that they chose to call in for each other to take the week off. It is interesting that she has been staying with him rather than him staying with her or them staying together. It is interesting that after Angela met with them at the diner she dropped all of the questions as to why they took time off together.

When I first started meeting with Agent Booth he said that all military stuff was completely off limits. When Director Cullen called me to find out why he had taken time off it peaked my interest though and Cullen gave me full access to his personal file, including what he did in the Army. If I wasn't scared of him before I certainly was after.

I was curious is Dr. Brennan knew what he had done, and if she did I wondered if it changed her view of him. After looking through both of their files I had to come to the conclusion that she knew he was a sniper, knew that he was in the military and knew that it was a sensitive subject. There were notes in both their files that he had shared classified information with her and I had to assume it had to do with what he has done.

I arrived early at Jack's house and was met by Angela. She ushered me into the living room and told me to wait there for Cam to arrive. I looked around at the pictures, the walls were covered with pictures. Some old, but mostly new. Of the team, all of the team. No newer ones with family. Interesting.

We got into a red Mazda CX-9, it did not even have license plates yet and the paperwork for a recent purchase was on the front passenger seat. "I did not mean go and buy a new car." Angela said sarcastically as she folded the papers and put them in the glove compartment.

"Well I didn't have a red one big enough for all of us." He answered starting the car and pulling out of the garage. When we started driving south instead of North I was confused, "We are getting Parker, Sweets, don't get your panties in a bunch." He said looking at me in the rear view mirror.

Ten minutes later we had Parker in his booster seat sitting next to me in the back row. "Sweets why did my Daddy tell me not to tell you about Dr Bones coming over to the house when I called her?" He asked me.

"You called Dr. Brennan?" I asked. I could see Angela and Jack up in the front giggling and Cam turned around to pay closer attention.

"Ya my Daddy was having a bad dream and he told me if there was ever anything wrong he said to call Dr Bones so I called her and she came over and we got to spend the weekend together and her and Daddy took me to New York to see where Daddy's friends died and then we got to go to the park after school on Monday before they took me back to Mommy's." He told me excitedly.

"Parker have you spent a lot of time with Dr Brennan?"

"Duh Sweets. When Daddy got hurt I saw her and Mommy let me spend lots of time with her while her and Daddy talked and then when we had to pretend Daddy died Mommy let me go hang out with Dr Bones everyday after school and still sometimes even after but Daddy didn't know until we went to the park where the dinosaurs meet the fishes on Monday."

"You had a secret from your Dad?"

"Duh." He answered before turning his attention to Angela and asking when we were going to be in New York. When Jack told him it would be two more hours he leaned against the arm rest and went to sleep.

I watched everyone's body language and listened to their conversations about nothing until I fell asleep only waking up to Dr Brennan climbing into the car and picking up a sleeping Parker. I watched as she held him on her hip as he slept on her shoulder. Agent Booth was talking to a few women who also had sleepy looking children inside of a small diner. I had to assume that they were the wives of his unit that died in the attack. I stood back as he introduced Angela and Jack to everyone and was surprised when Cam went up and hugged them all as if she had known them for years.

Dr Brennan sat down next to who was introduced as Terra, still holding a sleeping Parker against her chest and Agent Booth went over and sat down next to them. He ordered pancakes for the three of them and went back to talking to all of the ladies. The longer we sat there the more people joined us.

"Sweets come sit down with us and stop acting like a stalker." Booth finally called over.

"Sweets this is Terra, Derek's wife, Kristin, she was Mitch's, Carol and Phil are Adrian's parents, Tia was Jason's, Jason and Adrian are Carol and Phil's grandsons. Adrian and Gina were their parents, Adrian died in the attack and Gina died from complications from their early birth." He said pointing at twin boys who were barely older than Parker. "Destiny and Faith are Terra and Derek's girls, Allison, Aaden, Aaron and Alexis are Kristin and Mitch's kids." I knew I would never remember all of their names and I was flabbergasted at how many children were without a parent, or both parents because of the attack.

I watched at a man with a younger daughter walked over, "Sweets this is my friend Payton and her Dad Levi. Shelby was my roommate in college and was Miss Payton's Mommy. She died in the attack." Dr Brennan introduced.

"Well, now that everyone is here we should get over to the site for the memorial." Booth said taking a sticky Parker from his partner and wiping his hands and face.

So much loss, I was in high school when the attack happened, I am barely older than Allison and Destiny. I never really thought about the people who were hurt, the people who lost their families. I lived in California, the opposite end of the country. I remembered hearing about the economy suffering and a bunch of corporations trying to get people to fly again. Other than that I pretty much blew it off until today. Sure I felt bad for people but before now I never had a connection to what happened that day. Now I have a room full of connections.


	22. Chapter 22

_**I struggled with this chapter, I did not want to have an actual memorial in the story as there is no way to describe what it is like to be there, I only hope to share the feelings the characters (which i do not own) are having. I re-wrote this chapter so many times, and yet I am still not happy with it! Hopefully you all enjoy it anyway... comment please good and bad!!**_

* * *

I watched as Daddy held Dr Bones' hand and everyone cried. I never saw so many people crying at the same time. It was all I could see. A billion people all holding hands and crying while a guy stood up and told a story about how different people were brave and how lots of people lost their family. I wanted to hold Daddy's hand but when I walked in front of him it was like he didn't see me. Dr Bones let me sit on her lap and hold Daddy's hand with her.

When the old guy was done talking we sat there still. I watched as people slowly got up and started walking away but all of us who went to breakfast together stayed. Daddy's boss came over and gave Daddy a hug. I was surprised when both of them started to cry and just kept holding each other. Dr Bones gave me a hug and told me it is okay for them to cry because they lost their friends.

Mommy told me before I left that I would see Daddy and a bunch of other grownups crying but I didn't believe her. My Daddy doesn't cry, at least not when other people can see him.

"Parker what do you think of the things you saw today?" Dr Bones asked me when she caught me staring at Daddy and his boss.

"It is weird everyone is crying. I don't like seeing people sad and I want to make them happy." I answered her.

"Do you understand why everyone is sad?"

"Ya. Mommy showed me books and you and Daddy brought me here earlier this week and I learned about it at school too."

"Is it hard for you to see your Daddy this upset?"

"I never saw my daddy cry before." I told her as I put my arms around her, "it scares me a little when Daddy cries." I whispered to her.

"Sometimes Buddy crying helps. Your Daddy hasn't talked to anyone or shared that he was scared and upset that his friends all died until this year. Can you imagine keeping that a secret for seven years?"

"Dr Bones that is more years than me!" I told her.

I talked to Dr Bones a little more before Dr Sweets came over and sat down next to us. His face was all red and he had stripes down his face from crying. I squirmed my way off of her lap and went over to talk to Payton.


	23. Chapter 23

_**blah blah blah...filler chapter...trying to get my muse back on track...she has so many ideas she does not know where to start!!**_

* * *

__I did not think my reaction to the memorial would be as strong as it was. I could not keep myself from crying no matter how hard I tried, at least it seemed as if I was not the only one crying, in fact, it seemed as though everyone was crying. I was not sure if it was the idea that so many people were attacked on our home turf or if it was me picking up on my friends emotions, they had after all, all been affected in one way or another.

After the memorial I traded seats until I was next to Dr Brennan. She was holding Parker while Director Cullen talked with Agent Booth. I observed the two of them, Director and Agent, both crying and holding each other, both very different on this day than they are in the workplace every other day.

When Parker squirmed his way down and went over to play with Payton I looked over at Dr Brennan and she smiled at me. "Do you know anyone who died here Sweets?" She asked me turning her attention from her partner to me.

I shook my head and felt like an idiot for being so worked up when I do not know anyone who actually died in the attack. Instead of calling me ridiculous or something equally demeaning she put her arm around me and gave me a quick hug. "You were in high school. I didn't suspect you knew anyone who died here. I bet though that several of your classmates have joined the military though and therefore have been affected.

"Thank you Dr Brennan." I said quietly thanking her for the hug, "Two of my best friends joined the Navy. They are both in Japan now so not really in the war." I answered her.

"My college roommate." She said quietly, "she called me and told me she saw people jumping out from floors below her. I was on the phone with her when the tower fell." I started to reach my arm around to hug her as she started to cry but was met instead by a sad eyed Agent Booth, he gently put his hand on her shoulder and she instantly turned from me and the two of them embraced. It was amazing how in sync the two of them were with each other. They both refused to admit that they were more than partners or friends but anyone who just passed by them for a second could see they were much more than that. It was only a matter of time before they saw it.

They held each other for a minute or two before Parker rushed over and pushed his way between the two of them. "Can we get ice cream? Ice cream makes everyone feel better." The child was brilliant, change the subject from happy to sad with food. I watched as the two adults eyes met and saw the discussion without words before they both nodded at the same moment.

"Ice cream everyone?" Booth shouted to the two rows we took up together.

From behind us I heard Terra say that there was an ice cream social at the base starting an hour from now and she invited us all back to the base with them. We all walked back to the car and climbed in. Parker went in the car with Agent Booth and Dr Brennan. Cam and I rode with Angela and Jack following them back to the Army base.


	24. Chapter 24

The ice cream social on the base was a lot of fun. I spent most of my time talking with the moms on base. It was interesting how much their way of life was different from my own. About fifteen percent of the moms were in the Army themselves while the other eighty-five percent had spouses or boyfriends in the Army.

Booth spent his time talking with a lot of the Army guys that were there sharing their adventures, never did they share a story where someone was critically injured or killed. I tried to keep my distance but stay close enough he could see me the whole time. I didn't know if keeping him in my sight was more for me or for him.

Parker, though he was playing with all the other kids on base kept running up to me or Booth and giving us a hug. He wanted to make sure we were both there watching him. Kind of a safety net I suppose. Jack, Angela and Sweets had found a group of adults, I'm not sure if they were Army or not to talk to and Cam was talking with some of her old friends whom her and Booth shared back when they were together.

"Hey Sweetie we are going to head back home now. We will see you back at the lab tomorrow." Angela said walking up to me with Cam, Sweets, and Jack in tow. I nodded and we said good-bye.

I went over and sat down next to Booth who had found a bench and was watching Parker play. We sat there in silence until the sun began to set. "When did you want to head back home?" I asked finally. Booth turned and looked at me as if he was in shock.

"Home?" He asked me quietly.

"Yes, home Booth, DC, where we both live." I answered sarcastically but putting my hand on his arm.

"I don't know if I am ready yet Bones." he said as his eyes filled with sadness.

"Booth we cant hide forever and we have to go back to work tomorrow and Parker has school." I said logically but squeezing my hand tighter around his arm.

"Bones can you drive?" I wrapped him in a hug and nodded.

I called Parker over and we said our good-byes to Terra and her kids, Kristin and hers, Payton and Levi, Brittney and her husband and baby boy, Carol, Phil and the boys. We promised to stay in touch and get together for the holidays.

"Hey Bub, you ready to go?" I asked picking him up and settling him on my hip. He nodded and rested his head on my shoulder. Booth put his arm around us and together we walked back to the car. I buckled him into his booster seat while Booth climbed into the passenger seat then I climbed up into the driver seat and pulled out onto the road.

Parker was asleep before we even reached the freeway. I turned my attention to Booth who was staring out the window. I turned on the radio to a station that claimed to play every type of music and after a few songs I started to sing along.

"You tell me, you're in love with me like you cant take your pretty eyes away from me. It's not that I don't want to stay but every time you come to close, I move away. I wanna believe in everything that you say cause it sounds so good but if you really want me, move slow. There's things about me, you just have to know…"

I looked over at Booth and smiled, he looked back at me with a curious smile and I continued singing along, " Sometimes I run, Sometimes I hide, Sometimes I'm scared of you but all I really want is to hold you tight, treat you right, be with you day and night, Baby all I need is time."

I felt his hand reach over to my lap as he squeezed my leg, "I don't wanna be so shy. Every time that I'm alone, I wonder why. Hope that you will wait for me. You'll see that you're the only one for me. I wanna believe in everything that you say cause it sounds so good but if you really want me, move slow. There's things about me you just have to know…"

I heard him softly start to sing along and together we finished the song, "Sometimes I run, Sometimes I hide, sometimes I'm scared of you but all I really want is to hold you tight, treat you right, be with you day and night, all I really want is to hold you tight, treat you right and be with you day and night. Baby all I need is time. Come, just hang around and you'll see there's no where I'd rather be. If you love me, trust in me the way that I trust in you…"

When the song ended he reached up and turned down the stereo. He turned back and checked to see that Parker was still asleep before speaking. "Bones, I want to tell you something…"


	25. Chapter 25

_**Two short chaps in one... hope you like it! Not sure how much longer I am going to continue the story... comments keep my muse happy and coming up with more ideas!!  
**_

* * *

__"Booth are you sure you want to have this conversation now?" I asked him already knowing what he wanted to say.

"Yes Bones. Now. This second. I cant wait anymore."

"Okay Booth what did you want to tell me?" I asked smiling at him.

"I did not know that you listened to Britney Spears Bones."

"You knew the words too."

"Yes but…"

"Nope Booth you cant hold it against me."

"But Bones…"

"I wonder what would happen if it was slipped in the FBI office that you know all the words to a Britney Spears song…"

"Bones don't you…"

"You are the one who brought it up Booth."

"Ya but I didn't think…"

"You don't think…that is correct…" I said as I started laughing.

We spent the next three hours laughing and teasing each other back and forth as we sang along with the radio. I could not believe that Parker slept through all of our laughing and when I pulled into Rebecca's driveway at a quarter to eleven I climbed out of the driver seat and went to the back and lifted the sleeping boy from his booster seat. He nuzzled his face into my neck and wrapped his arms around me. Booth grabbed his backpack from the back and we walked together to the front door.

"How was it?" Rebecca asked us as she led us into the house.

"Good. It was good to go." Booth answered honestly letting his emotion show. Rebecca embraced him in a hug and held him for a few seconds before letting go.

She led me down the hall to Parker's room where I laid him down on the bed, "Take care of my Daddy Dr Bones. I love you." He said sleepily.

I kissed his forehead, "I love you too Bub and I promise I will." I whispered as I covered him with his Cars blanket. I walked back to the entry where Booth was waiting.

"Drive safe home you two. Thanks for taking care of Parker." She told me as we walked out the front door. We both waved as we pulled out of the driveway.

"Where too now Booth?" I asked him putting my hand on his and squeezing it. I did not want to go home alone yet. After spending the entire week with him it was hard to say goodbye and I just wasn't ready. I didn't know if I ever would be ready.

"The diner?" He asked me and I quickly agreed. Anything to give us more time together.

* * *

I loved spending time with Bones. She was able to calm me down and keep from completely losing it. I don't want to go back to just seeing each other for work. I didn't want to go back to work. I wanted to keep spending everyday with her. If I wasn't scared of her saying no I would ask her to just come home with me and never leave but I know her mind doesn't work that way. At least not most of the time and I didn't want this to be one of the times where it didn't and have her freak out and pull herself away from me again. I don't think I could handle the rejection.

When we got to the diner I ordered my apple pie and coffee as usual and she got a plate of fries and a milkshake. It was an odd pair, the food fit together much in the same way we did, we were almost complete opposites. It worked though. Somehow it always managed to work.

"Bones I don't know if I can go back to work tomorrow." I said quietly.

"Booth we only got our vacation time approved through today. We said we were going back tomorrow." She told me stating what I already knew, what she knew I already knew.

"I just don't know if I can."

"Don't know if you can what Booth?"

"I cant go back to the FBI yet. I am not ready for a new case."

"Booth just go in there and grab a handful of paperwork you have been avoiding for the last month and bring it to the lab and work in my office. No new cases but still work."

"How do you know that I have been avoiding paperwork?" I asked her amazed at how well she knew me and my habits.

"Booth we work together every day. I think I am in your office more than you are and I have seen the piles and they keep getting bigger."

"Okay okay…" I said cutting her off. "Can we go by there tonight then?"

"You don't want to face Cullen do you?" She asked me gently.

"Maybe." I answered.

"Seeley Booth you are not a coward but if you want to pretend you are and take the easy way out we can go by tonight and get it but that means you are going to get two boxes full instead of just the one you can carry."

I smiled at her and agreed. She was right. I knew it and she knew that I knew it. "Just stick with me on this one Bones…please?"

"Booth I told you over the weekend I would stay with you until you told me to leave." She said seriously.

"So if I asked you to stay with me again tonight you would?" I asked.

"Yes Booth I suppose if you wanted me to I would." She answered after thinking about it for a couple seconds…or pretending to think about it…I am still trying to decipher between the two.

I decided to push my luck… "So Bones…if I asked you to move in with me would you?"

She looked at me trying to worm her way into my brain, she stared for a good solid five minutes before answering, "Well, your house is kind of small to fit all of my things but I suppose we could work something out."

* * *

_**Comment please :)  
**_


	26. Chapter 26

I have gotten several comments saying that this story is really ooc. Though it is different from the show, I feel as if I have stayed within character as much as I can regarding the storyline. I have watched the three seasons multiple times and have noticed that whenever a case affects Booth he is often seen with tears in his eyes before switching scenes. For me, having him show the emotion just seems like something he would do. Everyone has a breaking point, and even for those who hide it most of the time, like Booth, have things in their past that could push them over the edge. I also think that because of their closeness Bones would be the one person whom he would open up to. So ya…I know I am rambling but just wanted to clarify where I was coming from with the characters. By the amount of people reading my story I assume people are enjoying it…comment please!!

* * *

I spent the night at his house again that night, got up with him and went to the FBI field office to get his boxes of paperwork before we went to the Jeffersonian. I left him in my office while I went up the balcony to use the phone.

I had spent the night thinking about his proposal to live together. I fell in love with the idea and that scared me. Since Pete I had not lived with anyone and that did not turn out well so I was worried what would happen if Booth and I did in fact move in together. It would be a huge step to go from Partners to more than that. In a way I think we were already more than that, it is just that moving together would make it official.

Angela said we were practically a couple; we had keys to each others homes, we kept clothes and a toothbrush at each others homes, we were each others emergency contacts…to her that made us a couple. Sweets said that our partnership was a replacement for a romantic relationship, meals together, finishing each others sentences, having each others backs…to him that made us a couple. When Jack and Angela got engaged even my dad came back because he thought it was Booth and I going to get married. Were we just now realizing that we were in fact more than partners or was it just the extra emotion this week?

Either way I decided it was time for me to buy a house and a small piece of property as a surprise to him. He had after all said we should get a house in the country along the river so we could go visit Andy. I would be working there quite a bit with the bridge project anyway. Having a home out there would be more practical than traveling back and forth everyday.

Was I really ready to turn my world upside down and have a typical relationship? Booth is a family man. He believes in marriage and monogamy, he is a father and wants to have more kids. Being in an official relationship would be a stretch more me. Though the more I thought about it, and after the week we spent together the idea sounds more and more appealing.

"I want to buy a house... Yes… Near the river… No I want a larger home, at least three bedrooms and an office… No it is not just for me… We will come down tomorrow to look at it but it sounds perfect." I said after getting off the phone with the real estate agent. She found a four bedroom, two story ranch home right on the river.

When I went back to my office Booth was twirling his pen in his fingers and once again avoiding his paperwork. "You need to clear your schedule tomorrow. I need your advice." I told him sitting down at my desk.

"Advice on what?" He asked me as he stopped twirling his pen and putting it down on top of his stack.

"I will tell you when you get that box finished."

"Bones…" He whined adding at least three extra o's to my name.

"Just do it." I said as I started working on my next chapter.

* * *

Okay so I know this is a short short chapter, but I have been busy and wanted to give somewhat of an update...will have more tomorrow!


	27. Chapter 27

_**Couple more chapters...before the end. Thank you so much for the great response!**_

* * *

__Thank God for Partners. I could not have made it through these last couple weeks without her. When I asked her if she wanted to move in together I was only partially serious, I never thought that she would actually consider it. She never did tell me her answer about moving into my house but we have come up with an excuse every night this week to stay together. Either staying up late watching movies until we fell asleep on the couch or working on paperwork late into the night. We stayed at her apartment as often as we stayed at mine. The more time I spent with her the more I realized how perfectly we complemented each other. She always knew what to say and when to say it or to just not say anything when I needed her. Parker adored her and I could see the glint in her eyes when she was with him.

We talked about our friends, our families, our pasts, but never our futures. Our futures were so completely up in the air. She had always said that she did not believe in marriage and never wanted to be a mother. I had always said I wanted to get married and have a family. I was not sure where that left us. I hoped that we could be together but was not sure if it would work. Only time will tell what our futures will bring.

The best part of spending our time together was the plain and simple fact that I was able to sleep. It had been years since I was able to sleep through the night. Slowly I have been able to open up to her and tell her the small things that were the cause of my nightmares and she was able to listen and forgive me for my sins and it helped me to slowly let go of the guilt and the pain. I still had it but the more I was able to talk to her the feelings of deadness inside of me with lifting and I felt more alive.

She was scared. Scared of me leaving her like the rest of her family that had left her. I could promise her every second that I was not going anywhere and I do not know if she would ever truly believe it. I know that she trusted me more than anyone else but she was still scared. It would take time, maybe she never would, but I had to prove to her that not everyone would leave her. She knew that I loved her, I told her everyday and I knew that she loved me though she was too scared to say the words.

The only kiss we had shared was that fateful Christmas under the mistletoe. I kissed her temple every night before falling asleep and I felt her return the kiss once she thought I was sleeping but until she was ready…until she was ready I would wait.

Last Saturday she had me go with her to look at a house out in the country. It was about a mile from the bridge she was paying to have rebuilt and only a couple blocks from Andy. I told her it was perfect and she had decided to buy it…she said she was not sure but I heard her on the phone later that night working out the details. The only downside to it was the commute to the city. On a good day we could make it in an hour. If there as traffic it would take at least two hours to get to either one of our offices.

I hoped that her buying this house was her way of saying she wanted to move in together. If it wasn't I do not know what I would do. Two weeks spending the night with her I did not know if I could go back to sleeping alone. I knew for sure that I never wanted to spend the night without her.

The longest we had been apart in the last two weeks was for six hours when she said she had a meeting with her publicist and I had to meet with Cullen at the field office. During that time we sent random texts to each other so really we were not apart. It was weird. Before this I would find random excuses to stop by the lab, take cases where I knew we would have to spend a great deal of time together but once Parker called her over that fateful weekend things somehow changed. I just did not know what to expect tomorrow. It was like my world had been turned upside down and I was trying to figure out what it meant for my future, for our future.


	28. Chapter 28

_**So I think this is my last chapter for this story. I have a couple other stories in the works. Hope you enjoyed this. Comments are always enjoyable!! Thank you so much for reading!**_

__

* * *

Skipping three years into the future, to the tenth anniversary of the Trade Center Attacks.

"I have the condo reserved for the week again and we can pick up Parker on the way our of town." I told him over the phone.

"Thanks Bones." He said as we got off the phone. We had spent the last three years working together as usual. Partners at work, a family once the work day had ceased. We had hosted foster children together. Since I had Andy for the week it made me realize that I could give back and help other kids that were like myself, kids who needed a home and needed a family.

Booth had talked me into buying a house on the edge of town. Seven bedrooms. It was an old Victorian home that had been renovated and though it was almost completely modern it still held its history. We almost always had at least two children living with us. The master suite was amazing, complete with a private bathroom with Jacuzzi tub. We each had our separate offices where we made our only modification to the home. We tore down the wall between the two and put a sliding wall so they could be two rooms but most of the time it was one large room. Parker had his own room, dinosaurs and sports. He couldn't decide which he wanted so we gave him both. We had a guest room that was often used by Jack and Angela or Russ and Amy. And then most importantly we had two rooms we used for our foster children. There was a set of bunk beds in each so we could have up to four kids.

It was a big change for us to finally admit that we had feelings for each other and to merge our lives. We were not married but we were completely committed to each other. We did not have our own children, instead we fostered children who did not have families of their own. For all of our differences we easily found ways to come together.

As we neared the tenth anniversary of our friends deaths in the attack we once again came together to share our strength. This year we were going to bring our whole family to the Memorial Ceremony. We had done it the last couple years but this year was different. This year we had an official family. Booth, Parker, Britney and Derek who were seventeen year old twins, their half brother Kaleb who was nine and Faith who was two months old… we were adopting the four of them and thanks to Caroline the adoption would be official on the eleventh. We met the four of them through a difficult case and we just could not let them grow up in the system. Britney and Derek were going to be seniors in high school and did not want them to be separated from their younger siblings who would have easily been adopted out.

The twins and Kaleb's dad was killed in the attack and their mother remarried only a year ago giving them their baby sister. Their mother had been killed by their step-father and Faith's father before he turned the gun on himself. They did not have any other family who was able to care for them and so they went into the system. I found out a week later that they had been separated and threw a fit. Booth made things happen though and pulled a few strings until we were granted custody.

When Booth got home that night we had dinner together as a family as we did every night. We tucked in all the kids and waited until they fell asleep. Then I followed Booth into our bedroom where he sat down on the foot of the bed and started to cry.

I sat down next to him and leaned my head into his shoulder. "You are never alone Baby."

"For the first time in my life I don't feel alone Bones. Thank you."

"We are family. You showed me what family means Booth."

"We are an interesting family."

"There are all kinds."

"I think we proved that."

"I want to get married Booth."

"What?"


End file.
